captain’s facebook: Good evening. I’m very happy to reach 100 matches with the national team, very proud of everything that we’ve achieved. but we want more. cheers!

After what seemed like an eternity, Puyi finally earned his 100th cap for La Roja, etching his name next to an elite few, and becoming the first defender to do so. He was captain for the first 45 minutes against Uruguay, and was given a commemorative little oryx by the Qatari hosts at halftime. i was so relieved when he was finally subbed out. injury-free puyi >>> shirtless puyi.

… and five more to go. we drew 1-1 with valencia thanks to a penalty from messi. both goals came in the first half, which puyi witnessed from the bench, together with some other players i would have liked to start (villa, alexis, thiago, adriano). Continue reading →

ah, the morning after. time to soothe my hyperstimulated neurons and placate them into the drunken bliss of selective amnesia. 20 minutes into the first half, i already knew this wasn’t a match i’d want to relive. i remember a time when i used to enjoy clasicos, even when we were losing. but there’s just something so despicable about madrid’s present crop of players and coaches that i just want to get the matches over with and not look back.

after our horrible defeat at the hands of real sociedad, and a very tense qualifying match for the copa, this weekend’s game was a welcome relief. puyi with the armband, villa on the pitch, xavi’s renewal, and a shiny new manita — it was a fantastic morale booster as we prepare for another round of clasicos.

football kit + jacket + bubble coat = i cannot cope with all these layers!!

this game was so unkind to my frazzled nerves!! kickoff was 5am here, and i made the huge mistake of staying up late worrying about the match. before i knew it, it was almost 3am, and i was left with a choice between napping/risking not getting up on time, and doing my best to stay up. i chose the latter and chugged a big mug of coffee. that was my second mistake. all that caffeine just made all the suspense worse. so thank you guys, thank you for taking a few years off my life. and thanks for the bonus of two additional clasicos. gahhh!!

is there anything more adorable than this? (click on the image for the full-sized photo, guaranteed to make you feel all tingly inside) puyi & co visited sick children in barcelona’s hospitals, as is club tradition. here’s a video of their mini goodwill tour, followed by a video of puyi’s interview about it. no entiendes? no problem. the captain’s charisma transcends the spoken word :) honestly, i found it so hard to pay attention to what he was saying… i was too busy trying not to cry happy tears like a crazy fangirl.

it was back to business at the ciutat esportiva yesterday, as the first batch of players had a morning training session. puyi, pique, and the rest of the catalan national team (except for captain valdes, who wasn’t called up because of plantar fasciitis) were there. tito visited them after training for a little chat :)